JUST



I just needed to be
That young woman in the red, cable-knit cardigan one more time
Who mama had to make excuses for…
“She’s very intelligent.”
And there were silence and blank stares all around the table
I just needed to be that young woman in the red, cable-knit cardigan
Maybe things would be different
And I could be “enough”

Was I an English major then?
Lost in Radcliffe and Love Story illusions of bliss
The reality of being adrift on a tumbling log of family dysfunction
Losses in the raging rapids and tousling winds
Threatening  to overtake me…Soon, too soon.

But I smiled and drank my coffee cautiously, ever so carefully
Fading away like swallowed cream swirling in the throat
Trying to be unnoticed…a guest in this house of  unfamiliarity
A visitor beside family who had to make excuses for my being
My very presence an apology

About this poem

This poem is a feeling memory piece.

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Written on February 22, 2024

Submitted by drlindalou on February 25, 2024

46 sec read
0

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXBXCBX XXCXX AXAXA
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 858
Words 154
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 5, 5

Dr. Linda Bielowski

The author is a retired psychotherapist and academician, who served the homeless and chronically mentally ill clients along with those suffering from co-occurring disorders. This work has been her purpose and her passion and her purpose. Her poetry has appeared in diverse journals and anthologies in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, and India. Previously, she has published nine complete collections of her poetry and one chapbook: Earth Mother, Close the Door Before the Night Comes In, Listen With The Ear Of The Heart, See With The Eye Of The Soul; Siren Of The Inner Sea; Prairie Woman—Secrets And Fireflies In Jars; The Prayer Afghan; The Seeing-Glass; Nesting: A Woman’s Voice From The Wilderness; Contemplative Persona; and Spirit Echoes. Dr. Bielowski’s sacred muses include twelve rescue cats, along with five others who have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. more…

All Dr. Linda Bielowski poems | Dr. Linda Bielowski Books

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    "JUST" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/182568/just>.

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